Mike and I are trying something new this year with our boys for Easter. We are kickin’ it old school!
Not sure how popular the “Easter Bunny” will be in our house come Sunday, but I am keeping my fingers crossed! Instead of loading their baskets with neon colored commercial candies, I am making a few molded chocolates (baseball gloves, footballs, bunnies and “magic wands“). Sam is also getting his first “big boy” bike and Luke is getting a “daddy-built” sandbox complete with dump trucks, shovels and the like. I also bought some cute Jelly Belly Bubbles (sugar-free!), that I found at Toys R’ Us. 😀
Making your own chocolate candies is actually not as difficult as it sounds (trust me on this, even my husband has made them!). All you need are some inexpensive molds, which you can find at any craft store (or online) for about $1.99 each. You also need chocolate (I’m not talking Couverture chocolate here, which needs tempering, that is WAY over my head!). You can use gluten-free melting wafers (I use Chocoley’s Bada Bing Bada Boom Candy Melts), but you can also get them at craft stores; Make’n Mold Candy Wafers are also gluten-free and they come in all sorts of colors. You can also use vegan chocolate chips if you need need something that is dairy-free.
While I personally prefer the taste of Chocoley’s candy melts (over the Make’n Mold Candy Wafers), I have also made candy using the 365 Organics Vegan Chocolate Chips. The first time I just melted the chips in a double boiler then poured into the molds and placed in the fridge to set. The candies set up fine (and tasted fine as well) but there were a bunch of unsightly white spots all over the candy. I think that was something called chocolate bloom (remember, I am not an expert!):
I made the candy bars again, but this time I added 1 Tbs. of Spectrum Shortening to each cup of vegan chocolate chips as I was melting the chocolate in the double boiler. I then repeated everything else the same and no white spots!! This version of homemade chocolate candy will melt more easily, so keep it in the fridge!
I made some gluten-free “Nestle Crunch” candy bars back in December and have since been trying other add-in’s like sunflower seeds and graham crackers bits. We really like the sunflower seeds as an add-in (see above picture), the perfect blend of salty and sweet. This would be a great candy bar for those allergic to peanuts and tree nuts!
Miss Twix candy bars? I made a gluten-free version of Twix last summer (I really shouldn’t link to it, so embarrassing to look at my newbie blog posts)! I still use the Schar Shortbread Cookies (they are soooo good!) but I no longer use the Kraft Caramels. I use Chocoley’s Caramel instead.
Looking forward to Glutino’s Chocolate and Yogurt Covered Pretzels coming out!!
I am still working on my campaign to get Glutino to make some gluten-free pretzel rods! I have strapping “manly men” in my house and the teeny-tiny magic wands just don’t cut it, (nor do my homemade pretzel rods!) LOL! 😀
As I was scrolling through some older photos from back in December (still need to catch up on some long overdue reviews), I saw a photo that I had completely forgotten about. I received a lot of great goodies from Schar and one of the products were “Italian Breadsticks.” They are great on their own, but I tried to turn them into pretzel rods by brushing them with melted butter and sprinkling Kosher salt on top before baking them for a few minutes to set the salt:
THIS is what I was trying to achieve for Sam’s Friday Fun Snack a few weeks ago when they were making “magic wands!” There are also a lot of fun chocolate pretzel rod molds that are hard to make without a GF pretzel rod! Have I made my case for Glutino to make GF Pretzel Rods???? If you’re with me on this, let’s bombard Glutino with Tweets and emails, Towanda!!! 😀
I found some foil candy wrappers at the craft store to add the finishing touch!
One last thing. A couple of days ago I found Annie’s Homegrown Gluten-Free Bunny Cookies (at La Montanita Coop for folks who live in the Albuquerque area). They are perfect for Easter and I also happen to need them for Sam’s Friday Fun Snack next week when they are making Mud Pies from Chocolate Teddy Grahams. You have no idea how HAPPY I am, that I don’t have to try and make a GF version from scratch!!!!
These are really good! Now if Annie’s would just make a gluten-free version of their Cheddar Bunnies, I might be able to get out of the kitchen more often! 😉 Might need to launch another campaign…
All that being said, there is a great gluten-free Easter candy list over at MyGlutenFacts.com. Denis and Josh run a GREAT website and I love their videos!
So check it out and subscribe to MyGlutenFacts.com… it’s FREE!!
And welcome to my blog!
Whether you're here looking for advice on how to go gluten free (with delicious kid-approved recipes of course!), or to read some of the latest medical research on celiac disease and non-celiac gluten sensitivity...or even to read about one woman's rise from the depths of gluten-free despair to a place of downright enthusiasm, it makes no matter. The point is, you are here now so let's have some fun!
Wow, you sure have been busy!!! I wish I had your patience!
Kim
Not sure patience is the word I would use, ADD, OCD or something along those lines might be more appropriate, LOL! Thanks Kim!
I have some of those bread sticks in my pantry! You have the best ideas Heidi. Totally trying these when I get back from vacation 🙂
Anna,
I have long lived my life thinking "outside the box." Being diagnosed with Adult ADD a year ago shed A LOT of light on all the "coping mechanisms" I developed as a child. I do not accept the word "no" very well… hence all the "Loopholes" I manage to find!
Tip: the Schar Breadsticks are fragile, so remove from molds carefully. 🙂
Wow! What great ideas! I guess I'd better get busy!!!
Lisa,
Another idea with the homemade chocolate candies: making edible cake and cupcake toppers that are celiac and food allergy safe.
I used the chocolate dish (albeit, it wasn't the best shape, but I used it on the fly) on my St. Patrick's Day cake for my cake 1 course "final." I filled it with yellow marshmallows to make a "pot of gold."
https://www.adventuresofaglutenfreemom.com/2010/03/12/…
Amazing Job Heidi!!
I think this actually looks fun! I love making candy!! We make a lot at the holidays, but now that I am gf/low carb I thought I wouldn't be able too. But doing your idea, using dark chocolate and maybe Stevia I could do something I am sure 🙂
Wanna relocate to CA? I need a gf friend to expeiriment with in the kitchen!! lol!
Great idea Tai!!!
This is EXACTLY what I love about my readers! Collaboration! I have been thinking more about the direction of my blog and what I want it to be about and this is the perfect example. GF friends collaborating on ways to make our lives better, easier and happier, especially for our kiddos. 😀
I love your idea of using dark chocolate (with added health benefits!) and Stevia. Isn't there a liquid Stevia? I would probably try that first, to eliminate the grainy texture. I haven't used Stevia since it first came out as an herbal supplement. I have been wanting to try the Truvia but haven't gotten around to it yet.
Sure, I would love to relocate, LOL! Are you in a beach community? 😉
HA! I wish…no we are part of a large farming community in the VALLEY! LOL!!
As for Stevia, yes it comes in a liquid (my personal favorite is Sweet Leaf by Wisdom Naturals http://www.vitacost.com/Wisdom-Natural-Sweet-Leaf… ) and even "flavored". I haven't tried the flavors, but I wonder what they would do for the dark chocolate? Hmmm…going to have to try that! I use SunCrystals, which is a mix of evaporated cane juice and stevia. That is it! Nothing else added. It comes in little packets, and 1/2 a packet is enough to sweeten my plain greek yogurt…so yeah it is pretty sweet 🙂
I love your blog. You have helped me so much since we started this journey just a little over a month ago!
Heidi, Heidi, Heidi! Just when I think you have outdone yourself, you go and do it again! Love those little twix cookies and the smoreables too. Oh yum!
Kelly,
I do not do well with the word "no," it only makes me want something even more!! I think this is why going gluten-free was so HARD for me in the beginning (I was a cheater for 3 years…shameful, I know)! Just knowing that I CAN have the things (if I really want them) that I miss from my gluten-days, keeps me very happy on the straight and narrow! 😉
I just made candy with molds for the first time last month. It's so easy, I wondered why I hadn't tried it sooner! I need to get candy bar molds, though, because your "Twix" look tasty! So do the bars with sunflower seeds. Yum. Great job!
Aren't they easy?? Check out this link for homemade "Whatchamacallits" and "Heath Bars." http://www.happynews.com/living/chocolate/make-ch… I haven't tried them yet, but they are on my list! 😀
Here is a video clip with more ideas on CHOW: http://www.chow.com/stories/10746/3
The Recipes (The gluten-free tweaks look simple enough to do. I won't go the tempering route though! They even have free downloadable candy bar wrappers!!!!):
Peanut Butta Cup: http://www.chow.com/recipes/11056 You could easily swap the peanut butter for a non-peanut based butter, like Sun Butter, if someone has a peanut allergy!
Twixt: http://www.chow.com/recipes/11058
Almond Jay: http://www.chow.com/recipes/11057
Snickles: http://www.chow.com/recipes/11059
FUN!
You have some cool Easter treat ideas. My kids will certainly appreciate me putting your ideas to good use when making their Easter baskets this year!